Improvement in fire-escapes



' ZSheets-Sheetl. H. A. RICHARDSio B. H. JENKS.

FIRE-ESCAPE. .No.173,739.

Patented Feh, 22, 1876'.

N-PETERS, FHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON, 01C

v .2 Sh eetv-She'et 2. H. A. RICHARDS & B. H. JENKS.

FIRE-ESCAPE. No.173,739. Patented Feb.22,1876.

Fgf

W'zesses N. PETERS. FHOTO-LITHOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

UNITED "STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY A. nronAnns-on o111oAe0,'1LLI oIs, AND BARTON H. JENKs, OF

PHILADELPHIA,

PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPRQVEMENT m FlR'E-ESCAPES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 113,739, dated February22, 1876; application .July. 23,1875.

event of fire, .as. well as to afford access to such portions of buildings for firemen, and to provide meansfor-elevating hose, &c-.; to- -Wr1110h endsour improvements consist in com-.

,bininga windingapparatus andairindestructlble supporting structure with a; flexible metallicladder,hoseelevators, a governor, and

a device ,whereby the. ladder and hose-elevators are, lowered andia telegraphic fire-alarm simultaneously struck, all as hereinafter more fully setforth. 1

Itisa well-known .factthat the exten t and ".disastrouscharaeter of conflagrations are principally due to the delay which ensues between the commencementondiscovery of the fire and the application ofwmeans of extinguishment,

as almostany fire, if attacked at its commence- 1 ment, can .bereadily and speedily quelled with limited appliances, while on the-other band,

. ina comparatively short space of. time, it may, i ,if allowed to gain strength, attain such 1 proportions as to be absolutely uncontrollable. .Moreover, the difficulty of promptly carrying .rvater to the roofs and upper storiesof high buildings has frequently preventedthe efforts 1 of the fire-department. fromfbeing successful.

Our invention, hereinafter described, is designed, in addition to affording .means of escape forthe inmates of buildings, to pro; yidemeans for obtaining access to the highest watt f bu d n s mu taneo ly w t 1 r striking of the alarm, and this without open- 1 1mg athBlOWeI doors or windows, so. that there may be nodelay in applyingavater to the fire a and no draft created to accelerategthe same. a.

m he mna y ne w ngs, Figur is ayertical central section .of a; fire;escape and 1 ;ho =e1ev 0r b d n un mnrove s Fig. 2, a planor top view of thesame Fig. l 3, a View of the ladder; Fig.4, a frontviewof a building. with the improved fire-escape and hose-elevator applied, and Fig. 5. a vertical longitudinal section of a portion of said buildmg. a

To carryout theobjects of. our invention we provide substantial metallic girders A A,

which constitute the bed or frame of the :ap'

paratus, and which are builtsolidly into the front and rear (or intermediate) walls of the building, so as to belindependent of the ordinary roof thereof, or maybe placed upon the roof structure. A shaft, B, carrying spiderheadsb near its ends, is mounted in hearings on the girders A A, and carries a flexible nae-j tallic ladder, O, which is wound upon thespider-heads, and secured to a bar or rod, b, ex?

tending from one head tothe other. The ladder 0 is composed of three or more strands, c, each strand being formed .of a series of small wires-ropes twisted together, and of a series of steps, 0 preferably of .flat band-iron. A' weight, 0, is attached to the bottom of the ladder to insure its descentwhen desired to be lowered, and hooks'c are likewise provided to make; thebottom of the ladder fastftoeye:

bolts in the pavement. The hooks c are connectedto the bottom of the-ladder by pulley; block tighteners c, to enable the ladder to be made perfectly tight when lowered and hooked to the pavement. A sheave,D, is connected tothe miaft B by a bearing fastened to the shaft, over which sheave passes a wire cable, D, one end of the cable having a simple hook,

d, andthe other a hook, 01 and snatch-block.

d These books are fastened. to the bottom step of the ladder, andthe cable D iswound up. overlrthe ladder. The ladder and cable pass-through an opening, 0, in the. bottom of the cornicefE,'which opening is closed by a sheet-iron doorfE. A spuegear, B,.-rupon the shaft B meshes with a pinion,Fl,.upon a counter-shaft, F, mounted in a bearing'on the girder A. Theconnten-shaft F likewise carries a; centrifugal governor, F to regulate. the

. rapidity of the descent of the ladder, and a crank, F to-elevate the same. Tlfdesired, the .gearing and counter-shaft might be disp n e wi hmn he, .eevern nd cra k. e

placed directly on the shaft B; but the arrangement shown is designed to diminish the amount of power required to raise the ladder and cable. The ladder and cable, when wound up, are retained inv position by a pivoted detent, G, which engages the teeth of the pinion F and holds the same, and consequently the shaft B, stationary. This detent is withdrawn from the teeth of the pinion in a manner presently to be described. An independent shaft, H, which may be used for elevating an mm. lid-basket or for a. separate hose-elevator, is mounted in bearings on the girders, and carries an' elevator-cable, H which passes over a sheave, h, secured in a bearing upon the shaft H in the same manner as the cable .D.

is attached to the shaft B, and is wound upon a druin, h, on the shaft. One end of the cable H carries a hook, k and the othera hook, h and snatch-block h, the hooks being fastened to the ladder C, so that thecable will be drawn down by-the ladder when the latter is lowered. The cable H is wound up by a crank, E on the shaft H. The whole apparatus is covered by a metallic casing or roof,

K, to protect it from the weather. The detent G is withdrawnfrom the teeth of the pinion F when it is desired to lower the ladder, by

means of a hand trip-rod, I, or wire cable,-

which passes down a closed casing or pipe, I, on the. front of the building, and terminates in a locked box, 1 on the outside thereof near the pavement. I

" The box I is similar to the-ordinary firealarm boxes, and is, preferably, fitted with a nected with the lower arm of the pivoted detent G, so that a downward pull upon the rod I will release the detent from the teeth of the pinion, and the weight 0 will cause the immediate descent of the ladder-and cables.

Fire-alarm or district-telegraph wirs L are connected with the alarm-box 1 so that the movement of the trip-rod to lower the ladder will cause an alarm to be simultaneously transmitted to the fire-department. At the same time the door E of the cornice is thrown open by the withdrawal of a rod, e connected to the detent G from the eye of a rod, e connected to the door, and the fastening-rod k of the roof or cover K of the apparatus is likewise released'by asimilar and simultaneous withdrawal of a rod, is, connected with the detent, from the fastening-rod'k, so that the cover may be opened to obtain access to the roof. Y It will thus be seen that by a simple movement of the trip-rod'the cornice-dooris opened, the ladder "and elevators lowered, the fastening of the cover unlocked, and a fire-alarm struck.

On the arrival of the engines the firemen can mount to-the roof of the building without opening the lower doors or windows, and, by attaching horses -to-the hooks on the snatchblock ends of the elevator-cables, the hose can be quickly raised to the roof or upper stories. The firemen, will be enabled to perform their duties with greater freedom andcontidence from the knowledge that an avenue of escape is open to them in the event of the burning .of the stairway, and from theirability to quickly raise lines of hose to the'roof they can attack the fire more advantageously by applying water from above instead of below.

In the case of an extensive conflagration lines of hose can be concentrated at contiguous points very rapidly, and by rapid changes of position, for which the apparatus affords ample facilities, the adjoining districts can be effectually protected.

The girders afford a firm support to the apparatus, even if the roof should fall in, so that safety is insured as far as possible.

The peculiar construction of the ladder with its .central and side strands prevents it from swaying when persons are passing upand down, as the hands can be applied to the central strand, and the feet tothe steps on each side thereof. V

The independent elevator-cable H affords facilities for raising and lowering a-basket,for the removal of sick or disabled persons, articles of furniture, &c.

Moreover, the inclosiug of the trip-rod in a protecting case or pipe prevents the apparatus from being tampered with by mischievous or careless persons, or by burglars for thepurpose of gaining admittance to a building, as,

even if the case were broken into bythem,

with the lowering of the ladder.

We claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- I i .1. The combination of a winding shaft or drum, a flexible weighted ladder, and a hoseelevator, connected thereto so as to hang vertically therefrom, and a trip-rod for releasing the ladder and hose-elevator, substantially as set forth. 7

2. The combination of a winding shaft or drum, a flexible weighted ladder, a hose-elevator attached to the winding-drum, and an automatic governor to regulate the rapidity the alarm would be sounded simultaneously of descent of the ladder and elevator, 'substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a fire-escape and hoseelevator and metallic supporting-girders, secured to the top of a building, substantially as set forth. x

4.. The combination of afire-escape and hoseelevator and a protecting case or cover, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of a fire-escape and hoseelevators and a door in the cornice of a building closing the opening, through which the ladder and elevators are lowered and opened automatically by the lowering thereof, substantially asset forth.

6. The combination of a winding-drum, a Weighted ladder, eyebolts upon or, near the pavement, and pulley-block tighteners to conneet the ladder and eyebolts, Substantially as set forth.

7. The combination of a winding-shaft, a

'gear-Wheel'thereon, a detent engaging the teeth of the gear-wheel, and a trip-rod for operating the detent, substantially as setforth.

8. The combination, with the detent and trip-rod, of releasing-rods for the cornice-door and the cover of the apparatus, substantially as set forth.

HENRY AL RICHAR S. BARTON H. JENKS.

Witnesses:

J. SNOWDEN BELL, OHAs. W. SGHUELLENNANN. 

